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Friday, 12 September 2014: One Year, One Hundred and Sixty Four Days Old.

Ayla had her investigative procedure today, to check out her entire digestive system.

The procedure required Ayla to fast from 7.30am, so by the time Ayla went to get ready for theatre at 3.00pm she was hungry, thirsty and tired.

I went in with her, suited up in a white robe and a fancy blue hair net, and held her little hand and brushed her hair while she breathed in the gas and drifted off to sleep.

Ayla was under anesthetic for 40 minutes, while her gastroenterological paediatrician conducted a “gastroscopy” and a “sigmoidoscopy” which included a couple of biopsies and another full set of bloods.

Ayla woke up an hour later, groggy and a little upset with a bit of a cough and a husky voice from the oxygen tube. There was a few tears, but as soon as we met her in Recovery, gave her a bottle and sat with her in a rocking chair, Ayla quickly drifted back to sleep.

We were discharged at 5.30pm with test results due back next Thursday. The procedure went well but the doc seemed a little surprised he found evidence of digestive irritation, apart from that there was no kinks, twists or damage to Ayla’s insides.

We now also have to wait for our next specialist appointment, with a paediatric endocrinologist (ie: growth expert), scheduled for 15 October, and for Ayla’s chromosomal blood tests to come back in the next couple of weeks

I wasn’t surprised because Ayla’s hardly seemed sick at all, apart from the rash and it’s itchiness.

Ayla was diagnosed with, wait for it, a “virus” and my theory is that it is actually Hand Foot and Mouth, which is going around at her day care centre, but for some reason it’s presenting strangely on Ayla.

Gosh, all this sickness has been stressful; not just because I hate seeing Ayla sick, and not just because my grand plan of returning to work with gusto has been shattered, but all the not knowing and speculation about what could be wrong is really taking it out of me.

As an anxious person it takes every fibre in my body to stay calm and keep on top of the what if’s.

I try my best to stay away from google… but it’s hard. And it seems as though everyone I speak to has a new suggestion I hadn’t yet considered and I find myself returning to the drawing board again and again.

Ultimately, I have to just focus on Ayla’s level of sickness and fortunately in this case it’s low.

Sure the rash is itchy and unsightly but Ayla is still happy and playful, chatty and curious, so I guess on the scale of things we’re good.

Ayla had a restless night last night and although she hasn’t had a fever since yesterday, this morning Ayla’s stomach was still upset and she was miserable.

Considering this is Ayla’s eighth day of being sick Hubby and I decided more need to be done than simply sitting around waiting for ‘it’ to ‘pass’.

So at lunchtime we demanded to speak to a paediatric supervisor to try and get some answers.

When the paediatrician came to see us she said that Ayla’s urine results had “only just literally come in that second” (conveniently) and that it was riddled with bugs.

I’d had a sneaking suspicion for a few days now that Ayla might have been suffering a UTI but the doctors kept telling me “not to worry” about catching a sample because it was probably only gastro.

Lucky I persisted.

Apparently Ayla’s UTI has stemmed from having had gastro in Thailand, which created the perfect environment for the e-coli bacteria to spread.

Ayla was immediately given the first dose in a seven day course of antibiotics and we waited at the hospital to see how her body would cope.

Ayla took the antibiotics like a champ and managed to keep it all down, so after a second dose at 7pm this evening we were sent home on ward leave.

Ward leave isn’t exactly discharged though… It means we are still awaiting final urine results tomorrow that will confirm if the generic antibiotics Ayla’s been prescribed will kill the particular bug she has.

It also means that if anything happens overnight we can go straight back to hospital and bypass the emergency room.

It was SO good to get Ayla out of the hospital, and out of that damn isolation room!!

Ayla seemed excited to be home too, crawling straight over to Cat Cat for a pat then off into her room to reacquaint herself.

I decided to treat Ayla to a special homecoming supper to celebrate so I put her in her high chair and presented her with a fresh strawberry and some chocolate custard.

Ayla was a sticky chocolatey mess in minutes and it felt good to have my little girl back!

If all goes well tonight Ayla could be back to her normal self by as early as tomorrow and if not well, lets not worry about that just yet.

Ayla’s had a nudie-bum all day today, and she’s gonna stay that way until we get this darn nappy rash under control.

The rash has been there in minor since I first blogged about it weeks ago, but this morning it flared up and spread to Ayla’s gorgeous chubby thighs.

It’s so awful to see my flawless and precious Baby Ayla tired and in pain because it hurts to wee….

So after a quick phone consult with my mum this morning it was off to the doctors for Ayla and I, hoping to find a safe, quick, cheap and effective solution.

But alas, the doctor declared the rash was indeed “very bad” and prescribed a course of creams to knock it on the head and ease Ayla’s discomfort ASAP.

As much as I tell myself that nappy rash is normal, and common, and part and parcel of living in the tropics, I still feel guilty.

There seems to be countless – literally countless – remedies, solutions and preventative measures out there to keep Ayla’s bottom as smooth as a baby’s should be and I’ve gone and selected the few that didn’t work.